Burke 7 - Aftermath
by adcgordon
Summary: Peter escapes his kidnappers and is happily reunited with Elizabeth. This little one-shot is meant to give us a bit of insight into Peter and Elizabeth's relationship during one of the most memorable (in my opinion) Burke moments that could've used more air-time. A continuation of Season 2's Episode 14 titled "Payback".


_I really enjoy the snippets in this show that give us a bit of insight into Peter and Elizabeth's relationship and wish we could've seen more of them together! So, I'm taking this opportunity to put my own spin on some of the most memorable (in my opinion) Burke moments that could've used more air-time._

 _I don't own any of the White Collar characters nor do I have any direct link to the production/show. I'm just a fan who has discovered the show a little too late but is still enjoying it!_

 _This little one-shot is meant to be a continuance to Season 2's Episode 14 titled "Payback" in which Peter is kidnapped by Keller and an associate._

 _-ADCG_

 **Burke 7 - Aftermath**

The couple smiled, walked toward each other – trying not to be overly anxious – and each looked into the other's eyes.

"Hi, Hon," Peter smiled gently at his wife.

"Hi, Hon," Elizabeth responded, easily melting at just the sight of her husband and the sound of his voice. "Are you okay?" Her smile faded slightly as she wondered directly to him about his wellbeing.

Peter nodded at her. "I'm fine, now."

Those gathered around them watched when the F.B.I. agent who had just escaped his kidnappers embraced his wife and kissed her lips. Peter's fellow agents didn't look away in embarrassment or shirk or giggle at their public display of affection.

This couple supported them in the various life trials and tests that each had faced. Now was their turn. Peter wasn't just a boss and Elizabeth wasn't just the boss's wife. They were all practically a family in many ways. And after this harrowing experience, watching the Burke's kiss was a scene of reconciliation.

Peter locked his fingers at Elizabeth's waist when their lips separated. He placed a gentle kiss in her hair, brushed his nose through her bangs and kissed her lips again. His forehead pressed against hers and she smiled.

His heartbeat slowed as he relaxed, knowing he was back in his love's arms, right where he belonged.

"Can we go home?" Elizabeth wondered after kissing her husband's lips and leaving another quick peck on his nose. She truly thought he would need to get back to the office to answer questions about the ordeal he had just endured.

Peter took a deep breath and glanced away from his wife's beautiful face for the first time since they had reunited. He breathed in deeply and looked toward the African American man and woman who were keeping a close eye on Peter.

"Jones?" Peter put some emphasis on the name, wanting to make sure he had the agent's attention.

"Yes, Sir?" Peter's co-worker and friend stepped toward them.

"I think I'm going to take my beautiful wife home so we can rest. Is there anything you need from me right away?" He never lost contact with Elizabeth, making sure they wrapped arms around each other even as they turned to face Jones.

Elizabeth felt Peter's grip at her waist, his hand grasping protectively to her hip bone. Her hold on him was similar, a thumb tucked into the waistband of his pants and her index finger clinging to one of his belt loops. And, as soon as Jones simply nodded his head at them, Mr. Burke's hand was on the small of Mrs. Burke's back, encouraging her to walk toward the car that would take them both to their house.

The driver held the door of the official vehicle open for them. Elizabeth crawled into the backseat first, followed closely by her husband. And once they were safely inside the confines of the car, Peter turned and placed a hand on her cheek, bringing her face to meet his for another kiss that was filled with the anxiety, fear and overwhelming love that had filled his heart during their time apart.

"I love you, El," he whispered against her forehead as he took even more time kissing her features one by one. "The worst part of this whole fiasco was the fact that I let you leave the house without telling you that I love you. We fought. And the idea that terrified me most was the thought that I might not get another chance to tell you that I love you."

He stopped and breathed in a shaky breath. Her eyes were closed but he could see the moisture on her dark eyelashes and the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. His wife's breaths were also a bit labored with similar thoughts filling her mind, obviously.

Still she wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled herself as close to him as she could possibly get.

"Hon," she whispered the one simple word that spoke loud volumes between the two of them.

The rest of the ride home was quiet, the only sounds being made when Peter or Elizabeth decided they needed a reassuring kiss from their spouse. The idea of making love in that back seat crossed both their minds not because of the two days of separation; but because of the overwhelming love and gratitude both felt from being back together.

* * *

"Satchmo, look!" Elizabeth walked into the house first and spoke to the fluffy, white dog that greeted them. "Daddy's home!" She bent and gave the dog a kiss on top of his head as Peter walked in behind her.

"Hey, Buddy!" Peter did the same, kneeling down to pat their pet and only slightly reluctantly accepting the rough tongue across his chin. "Yeah, yeah. Ok, that's nice, yeah, I missed you, too, but I'd rather let Mommy give me that kind of welcome home kiss…"

Peter chuckled as Satchmo gave him another lick on the cheek. Elizabeth had tossed her purse on the kitchen table and returned to hear Peter's 'welcome home' line. She moved toward her boys and offered Peter a hand to help him stand again.

"Are you sure you're ok?" She ran her fingers through Peter's slightly graying hair and let her fingertips graze the shell of his ear.

"Yeah," Peter shifted his eyes away from her only for a moment. "As long as I'm here with you, I'm just fine," his voice cracked a little when he looked back at her. "I meant what I said in the car, El. The thing that scared me most was the idea that I wouldn't be able to tell you again how much I love you."

"And I love you, Peter Burke. I know… I know you want to be a perfect agent, and a perfect husband. I know you do important work. I know that… But there's nothing more important to me than letting you know how much I love you. Neither of us is perfect – but we are still perfect for each other. I'm sorry we argued." She grazed her short, manicured nails again through his neatly cut hair and clasped her hands behind his neck.

She pulled him toward her and enjoyed a much deeper kiss that she practically devoured. Their tongues danced, enjoying the needed closeness. Their words had conveyed how much they had missed each other. But this - the passion that still ignited in each of them - sent their bodies into a wildfire status.

Peter shook slightly, his breath already ragged, when he released her lips and looked at his wife of more than 10 years. Her face told the story of how much she wanted him. Her plump lips were slightly parted, now slightly swollen from the intensity of their kiss. Her eyes fluttered open, wondering why he had pulled away. And, it took a moment for her to catch her breath.

"I need to make love to you, El," Peter whispered, holding her face in his hands and caressing her cheeks with his thumbs.

She swallowed to moisten her dry throat knowing she couldn't – she wouldn't – deny his request because she needed the same thing. "Upstairs?" she barely pushed the one word question through her lips.

Peter smiled at her and bent to try and pick her up, wanting to cradle her and carry her to their bedroom.

Elizabeth shook her head and scrunched her nose with a childish grin. Instead she took him by the hands and led him toward the stairs. She knew he was exhausted and the last thing she wanted was to cause him any more stress or pain.

* * *

When they stepped inside their bedroom sanctuary Elizabeth stopped. She enjoyed the gentle feel of his arms snaking around her waist and knowing that he was there with her again. She leaned backwards against him and basked in his strength.

Peter placed kisses on her scalp then bent his neck to nuzzle her ear and gently breathed into it. His wife giggled. He knew she would.

"That's supposed to be sexy, you know," he whispered and felt her shake with another laugh. He knew it tickled her. He had learned that before they were married but this little game had been part of their foreplay many, many, many times.

Elizabeth didn't respond verbally. She bit on her bottom lip with a girlish little grin as she looked down at their hands, clasped together over her abdomen. She ran a finger over his wedding band and caressed his larger hands with her thumb.

Her eyes closed inadvertently when his lips moved lower, kissing her jawbone and placing light licks on her earlobe.

"Peter," her breathless voice had no clue what she really wanted to say.

"Shhh," he continued his actions and was very pleased when her body practically went limp in his arms. "I'm still trying to be sexy here…"

The soft moan from her lips gave him even more confidence. So he found his spot on her neck, just below her ear and sucked just enough to elicit another reaction from his beautiful wife.

"Pet…" she breathed out and grasped his wrists to simply keep herself upright.

He felt her swallow to again moisten her dry throat.

"See," he raised his eyebrows and grinned against her delicate skin, "sexy…not ticklish…"

Finally she found the strength to turn in his arms in order to wrap her arms around his neck. Elizabeth nudged her nose against his chin and tiptoed to reach the same spot with her lips. When she moved onto his cheek Peter easily turned his face to capture her mouth with his.

Before she even realized his hands were moving, the buttons of her blouse were loose, exposing her upper body to him. And when they moved toward the bed Elizabeth had no urge to stop him. Peter sat down on the cushioned mattress and let his hands begin to explore, opening the gap in the material to experience more of her body.

Elizabeth bent to kiss him again. She was enjoying his touch and wanted more. Peter accepted her kiss more than anxiously but when he pulled away, wrapped his arms around her body and placed his cheek against her bra-covered breasts Elizabeth knew his exhaustion was setting in.

Like a child who finally decides to give in when they are tired, Peter closed his eyes and welcomed the feel of her hands massaging his cheek and running through his hair.

Elizabeth savored the moment. Her sexy husband was also the man who had spent the last 30 hours as the captive of a psychotic idiot who had no appreciation for human life. And yet Peter had escaped, somehow, in order to come home to her.

Her emotions welled up again and she tried her best to take in a smooth breath so she wouldn't disturb Peter's comfort. Even her minute hiccup caught his attention.

"El, Hon?" He questioned behind closed eyelids. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm," she answered quietly and stroked his cheek. "Listen, Mr. Sexy," she took in a deeper, relaxing breath, "how about we get changed and just snuggle in bed for a while?"

She felt him pout and then he sighed almost sadly. "If that's what you want," his voice reminded her of a child and she envisioned Peter as a little boy.

Elizabeth placed a kiss on the top of his head and then dislodged herself from his hold. She could see how tired he was when his eyes looked up at her.

"I have what I want," El stated without hesitation. "I have you here with me."

"But –" Peter tried to counter.

"No," Elizabeth shook her head with a motherly smile. "No buts, Peter. I want the same thing you do. Believe me," she emphasized, "and once you've rested and get some energy back…you can use all of that energy making love to me."

Peter smiled easily. He watched the bit of redness blush her cheeks as it often did when she spoke of their lovemaking. In that moment her blue eyes darkened just enough to let him know that she was feeling their togetherness in her mind and the heat of that pleasure deep inside of her.

"Promise?" Peter matched her gaze of want and love.

"Oh yeah," she nodded. "I promise your next captivity experience will be a pleasurable one –" she stopped as soon as the words left her lips. "Oh, Honey, I'm sorry…that's not…"

Peter grinned at her.

"Too soon?" She offered a quirky, sideways, apologetic kind of look.

Peter's eyebrows cocked up and down, easily moving past her awful attempt to joke about his kidnapping. He reached for her and pulled her down onto his lap.

"Can I make one request?" he found the ticklish spot again, placing a barrage of kisses there to let his wife know that he wasn't upset about her faux pas.

El tried to push him away without much real effort. "What?" she laughed from his actions.

"Just no handcuffs, please…"

Her eyes widened, and she stopped laughing long enough to read Peter's expression.

"Peter…"

"Me, and you, locked up right here and making love for hours." His dark eyes looked deep into hers. "The only thing we will need is a bottle of wine and each other." He offered her a soft smile.

Elizabeth returned his smile. "Hurry up and get some rest, will ya?" she petitioned softly.

Peter chuckled.

El continued, "That wine sounds really good."

* * *

Elizabeth stepped away from the bed and pulled a pair of plaid pajama pants from the dresser. She turned and held them toward Peter. "Do you want to shower, or just change and rest?"

Peter stretched his neck from side to side and moved his shoulders around. The weight of the last 30 hours was lifting off of him, but in its place was the tired, almost aching feelings that were drawing him toward the cool sheets and soft pillows on his side of the bed.

"I think I'll just change and rest," he responded and reached toward her for his night cloths. "A shower sounds great, but I'm afraid I'd fall asleep under the water." He chuckled quietly and was happy that his wife did the same.

When he stood up to move around their bed, El put a hand on his bicep and pushed herself up to place a soft kiss on his lips. She grabbed the t-shirt that she had worn the past two nights and headed toward their master bathroom.

She left the door ajar, opened just wide enough that she could see her husband through the mirror while she stood at the sink. She caught herself watching him while she wiped the makeup off her face and brushed her teeth.

Peter looked up once and caught her looking at him. He smiled at her, puckered his lips and blew a kiss in her direction as she blushed.

This wasn't their nightly routine. It wasn't completely out of the ordinary to have the door between the rooms open, but both of them knew why El hadn't closed the door. It was because she needed the reassurance that he was really there.

Had he wanted to shower, she likely would've showered with him on this particular night, simply to not lose sight of him. Or, she would've taken that 20 minutes to slowly run through her night time process while standing a few feet away.

Instead, she found herself rushing. Within 5 minutes she was pulling the old, gray, oversized Quantico t-shirt over her head. It was one of the first pieces of Peter's clothing she had ever worn. And even with a few holes now giving it more character, she wasn't ready to throw it out.

She looked into the mirror again. Peter was now in his pj pants and turning down the bed. He grimaced slightly when he reached down to move the pillows so Elizabeth continued watching. When Peter grasped the hem of his own t-shirt and began pulling it up and over his head, his wife understood his moment of pain.

She gasped at the sight of the purple and yellow bruise that sat along the lower part of his rib cage. Peter saw her staring again and noticed her blinking back wetness from her tear ducts.

"It's just a bruise, El. I'm fine, really." He offered to her.

She nodded and looked away from his eyes. She brushed a few more strokes through her hair and then came toward the bed. She didn't _want_ to know, but needed to know at least one little bit about the reminder of his kidnapping.

"Did Keller do that to you?" She wondered of the psycho responsible for the terrifying experience.

"No," Peter shook his head and patted her side of the bed, wanting her to lay down with him.

"I never saw Keller," Peter explained.

"So what about the bruise?" El asked plainly.

"One of his goons got off a good punch when they put a hood over my head and loaded me into the van."

"Does it hurt?" She sat down on the bed but kept several inches between the two of them.

"Only if I stretch too far," Peter lied somewhat.

"Oh, okay," Elizabeth pulled her side of the covers down and began tucking her toes underneath. Still she could see the bruised area of his skin under the comforter that was only pulled up to Peter's waist.

"You want me to put my shirt back on?" Peter wondered, watching her being timid and moving just enough to try and situate herself on the mattress.

Elizabeth smiled at him and shook her head. "No, I just don't want to hurt you."

Peter tilted his head to the side, stretched his right arm out onto the pillows beside him.

"What will hurt me, is if you don't lay down here beside me and be my teddy bear."

El's stance relaxed as she let out a laugh through her nose. She began to move with more purpose, manipulating the sheet so that she could get closer to her husband.

Before she put her head on his shoulder, however, she propped her chin in her hand momentarily. She looked at his face and placed her other hand on his cheek taking in every millimeter of his features.

"God, I love you," she whispered and bent her head to meet his for the kiss that would last them through the night.

When she was settled on his muscular shoulder he wrapped his arm around her. She was grateful for the tight grip that held her close to her husband. And, she loved the feel of his forearm, protectively placed just under her breasts.

Peter winced to himself as he held her and reached toward the lamp to turn off the light. He adjusted enough to get both arms around her. He placed several more kisses in her hair and inhaled deeply enough to make sure her scent was the only thing permeating his lungs.

"I love you too, Hon. I'm so glad to be home."

Elizabeth knew a couple of her tears fell onto his arm and knew that he felt them. But neither of them moved, or said another word. Both were finally able to sleep, back in each other's arms, exactly where they were supposed to be.

 **-** **Burke 7 – Aftermath** **-**


End file.
